Xu Qingye and Cheng Shu’s fast-food diner saw very few customers on its first day of business. Just as she had anticipated, most players logging into the game preferred trying dishes they couldn’t easily eat in daily life, showing a far stronger inclination to step into high-end, uniquely themed restaurants.

She had leased a street-side location for a “fast-food diner” offering low prices—a setup that would be extremely popular among real-world office workers.

However, food inside the game was inherently cheap to begin with, so players naturally harbored little interest in everyday, ubiquitous fast food.

Over the entire afternoon, only a handful of patrons visited. Today’s shop revenue fell far short of operational expenses; at this rate, her store would go bankrupt before long.

How could she attract more people to step inside?

Xu Qingye decided to head straight to the official forum and post a promotional thread: “District 9, Perfume Avenue A-19, ‘Sister Xu’s Fast Food’! Home-cooked dishes prepared in person by a player chef—a rare find you shouldn’t miss! Ultra-low prices, featuring a Buy-One-Get-One-Free combo deal during our grand opening! All foodies welcome to come and taste~”

Working in marketing herself, she edited the post with exquisite detail.

The thread was packed with high-quality photos taken on-site during the cooking process.

Enhanced through artistic filters, every dish appeared exceptionally photogenic and refined, instantly elevating the restaurant’s visual appeal.

The young cook looked neat and handsome, wearing a white chef’s hat and uniform, smiling bashfully toward the camera while holding a freshly prepared dish. Though simple home-style cooking, a “hand-crafted” touch held far greater appeal than dishes made by game NPCs. Furthermore, the Buy-One-Get-One-Free opening deal offered incredible value.

Drawn by the forum thread, numerous District 9 players visited the shop to order meals.

The fast-food diner’s interior closely mirrored real life, featuring a long glass display counter filled with a wide variety of steaming, freshly prepared dishes.

Shredded Pork with Green Peppers, Kung Pao Chicken, Braised Pork Belly, Mapo Tofu…

Over twenty home-style dishes were arranged neatly across two long rows. The combo deals—whether two meats and one vegetable or two meats and two vegetables—were priced affordably. The server behind the counter stood ready at the display window; once payment was completed, customers could pick any dishes they liked, receiving a heaped plate to enjoy immediately without any waiting time, making the process remarkably convenient.

Intrigued players gathered around the counter to select their favorite dishes.

“Chef, I’ll take two meats and one vegetable: Braised Pork Belly, Mapo Tofu, and Stir-Fried Snow Peas!”

“Give me a two-meat, two-vegetable combo to try! I want this one…”

Gradually, a lineup of customers began forming.

Because today’s Buy-One-Get-One-Free deal was so cost-effective, many players arrived in pairs, needing to pay for only a single combo.

After grabbing their meals, players sat nearby and took their first bites—

To their delight, it was genuinely delicious!

The chef possessed excellent culinary skill, cooking with a balanced, healthy approach without excessive oil or salt.

The Braised Pork Belly was tender and savory, not greasy in the slightest; the Kung Pao Chicken utilized fresh ingredients with an authentic flavor profile; and the Mapo Tofu hit the exact sweet spot between spicy and numbing, turning every bite into pure enjoyment.

If such a delicious fast-food diner existed in real life, plenty of people would gladly visit offline!

Players left glowing reviews on the store’s message board one after another: “Boss, can you open an offline store, please?”

“This beats the fast-food place downstairs from my company by ten miles!”

“If there were a diner like this near my house, I’d never have to worry about what to eat every day.”

As positive reviews accumulated, “Sister Xu’s Fast Food” quickly climbed into District 9’s Top Rated Shops chart, drawing interest from an ever-growing number of players.

Xu Qingye was thrilled. Lacking the capital to start a business in reality, getting to experience the thrill in-game was fantastic.

On the other hand, Cheng Shu was kept completely swamped today. Because a player chef had to manually stir-fry each dish in the kitchen rather than relying on automated “copy-paste” replication, several of his freshly cooked dishes were instantly bought out as customer traffic surged.

Not wanting to place too heavy a burden on him, Xu Qingye suggested, “How about this? Moving forward, we’ll run on a limited-quantity basis—once a batch sells out, that’s it for the day.”

Cheng Shu wiped the sweat from his forehead with a smile: “Sister Xu, I’m free on weekends, so I can cook extra batches. On busy weekdays, limited supply works great—we’re not relying on this for actual income anyway.”

A bold, wild idea suddenly crossed Xu Qingye’s mind—

If their in-game restaurant business could truly explode in popularity, could they take a brave step and open a physical store offline as well?

After all, no matter how delicious in-game food tasted, it couldn’t actually fill a player’s real-world stomach.

There remained roughly a 10% gap in flavor and texture compared to reality; eating inside the game only satisfied one’s culinary cravings, but the moment they stepped out of their gaming pod, an empty stomach would continue to protest!

If she used this game as a marketing platform to establish her store’s brand awareness…

Would players be willing to visit their physical location offline in the future?

Advertising a small business in reality usually amounted to pasting posters or handing out flyers. flyer distribution could only cover a radius of one or two kilometers around the store, and many pedestrians disliked flyers, tossing them away immediately and yielding poor promotional results.

Games were completely different. After her shop made the Top Rated list this afternoon, incoming players surged exponentially.

Without spending a single cent on advertising fees, she simply drafted a beautiful post on the forum to attract the first batch of players. Through word-of-mouth recommendations alongside ranking board exposure, her store gradually transformed from an “unpopular niche” into a “booming hit.”

A holographic food game was, in essence, the ultimate promotional platform for gastronomy!

Owners of offline physical restaurants could come here to run advertisements.

Meanwhile, young entrepreneurs lacking capital could leverage this platform to build their business online first. Once their brand reputation was established, raising funds to launch physical offline stores carried far lower risks while saving a massive chunk of advertising costs.

Xu Qingye fell deep into thought.

How could she utilize the nation’s largest holographic food gaming platform to gather her “first bucket of gold” for entrepreneurship?

On the first day of open beta, a vast array of “Food Guides” emerged across the internet.

“District 66, Lorraine City — Must-visit restaurant: Jiangnan Dream! Run by two brothers, their Suhang cuisine is absolute perfection!”

“The cave hotpot in District 7 is incredible! Authentic Sichuan-style flavor with unique interior decor, perfect for taking photos.”

“District 17, Huaning City — Fairy Tale Desserts along East River Road! You have to taste their authentic Cantonese desserts.”

“After an afternoon of store-hopping, I’ve compiled a list of featured shops in District 11 for players in the same server!”

“Starry Cloud City Featured Shops Summary List — curated for convenient reference by local players.”

Countless guides reviewing shops and recommending dishes flooded the official forums and Weibo super-topics.

On launch day, most players only had time to sample one or two stores; with these guides, they could systematically explore other establishments in subsequent sessions.

Naturally, players soon realized that the initial batch of launch restaurants focused primarily on Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunan, and Suhang cuisines, with beverages limited strictly to coffee. Other regional cuisines hadn’t been implemented into the system yet, while street-food stalls for steamed buns, rice noodles, wheat noodles, and seafood BBQs were nowhere to be found.

Many players submitted feedback to the official team: “The menu roster isn’t complete enough! Hoping snack stalls go live ASAP.”

Someone added: “I love rice noodles so much, 😭, I walked an entire street without finding a single rice noodle shop!”

Regarding this, the official Weibo account published a prompt response:

“Dear Players,

Because the taste system is still undergoing fine-tuning, the open beta version of ‘Food Street’ has only unlocked a subset of regional cuisines. We will introduce additional culinary styles and local snacks in our early September update! Please stay tuned~”

Seeing the official team’s response, players finally set their minds at ease.

It was completely understandable—attempting to release hundreds of distinct dishes all at once would impose immense production pressure on the developers.

Releasing content in phased updates granted the development team more time for meticulous testing and calibration.

Besides, the four launch cuisines already provided a massive variety of dishes. A month later, poorly managed restaurants would go bankrupt and be reclaimed by the system, opening up store slots for new shopkeepers while new additions along the street-food stalls kept the dining experience fresh.

The game forum set up a dedicated “Photo Check-in Zone” for players to upload screenshots.

Some of the store photos shared by players were visually stunning.

For instance, a river-view restaurant named “Detective Di” appeared in District 33.

Upon stepping inside, customers were greeted by a multitude of prop elements from Detective Di Renjie; all waitstaff wore traditional ancient attire, addressing guests as “Shop Assistant,” while table sets, chairs, ceilings, and flooring were crafted from rustic wood.

Dining here felt like participating in a live-action murder mystery game, packed with rich immersive flavor.

This was clearly a themed restaurant created by a fan of Detective Di Renjie, and this unexpected “cross-over” left players thoroughly thrilled.

Over in District 51, a coffee shop named “Xinxin Gallery” opened with an exceptionally artistic ambiance. The first floor featured a spacious, brightly lit exhibition hall hung with numerous paintings on the surrounding walls, reportedly painted by the owner herself.

The second floor offered a gorgeous river view. This cafe provided an ideal space for quiet conversations with friends, as its serene gallery environment felt delightfully isolated from external hustle and bustle.

While enjoying a meal, patrons could admire the talented owner’s artwork, enjoying a free art exhibition for the price of a coffee—a double benefit for a single purchase.

There was even a restaurant where the owner, a music conservatory graduate, sat in the central hall playing the piano to charm incoming guests. Regardless of how the food tasted, the piano performance was top-tier!

These inventive, flair-filled store owners made players marvel at the vast talent pool within the player base.

“I really wanna visit these restaurants you guys mentioned! Too bad we’re not in the same district, sigh!”

“The furthest distance in the world is me being in District 3 while you’re in District 33, unable to play together.”

“I hate missing out on delicious food in other districts! Poking @LittleSailboat—can we get a cross-district system?”

“Family, I’m already preparing to make alt accounts. Is a limit of 8 alts going to be enough?”

Just as players expressed disappointment over the inability to cross districts, the official Food Street account suddenly published a new announcement:

“Dear Players,

Since the launch of ‘Food Street,’ we have received overwhelming love and support from everyone, for which we extend our heartfelt gratitude!

To make it easier for everyone to sample delicacies nationwide, we will officially launch the ‘Tourism System’ following server maintenance on August 10 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM! At that time, players can purchase tickets to ride airplanes or high-speed trains, crossing physical distances to freely visit any city!

Players wishing to travel across districts can purchase tickets and make reservations via the in-game ‘Tourism System’ at any time. We wish you all a delightful trip~”

Reading this announcement, countess players grew thrilled.

Travel to any city freely?

Meaning cross-district travel was now possible?

As expected of the top game company in the country, Qihang remained at the absolute forefront of technical innovation.

Cross-server data processing was no simple feat, yet Qihang’s servers could seamlessly handle “free district transfers”? Players would no longer be restricted by server boundaries; if they grew bored of a particular district, they could freely hop to another to sample local restaurant offerings.

Since player demographics varied across districts, store decoration styles naturally differed as well.

Staying in a single district for too long could grow repetitive, much like living in the same real-world city and eating the same local cuisine until one’s palate grew bored. With on-demand district transfers, that concern vanished entirely.

In reality, few people could afford a spontaneous “pack-and-go trip.”

Inside the game, however, it was effortlessly achievable.

Switching districts on a whim allowed another full week of culinary exploration!

Tens of thousands of comments flooded the official announcement thread within moments, as players showered high praise on the “Free Tourism System.”

“Renaming the district transfer fee to ‘Plane Tickets’ and ‘High-Speed Rail Tickets’ actually makes it feel like cross-city travel inside a game!”

“I haven’t even finished exploring the restaurants in my own district yet. With cross-district travel, won’t I be playing this game for a year or two?”

“Switching to a new district every day would take two whole months. Will I be able to eat through every single restaurant in ‘Food Street’ within my lifetime?”

“I’ve decided to start from the very last district and eat my way backward!”

“A absolute dream for foodies—an endless supply of delicacies! Who knows, by the time you return from a trip, your home district’s restaurants might have already rotated a fresh batch, hahaha!”

How successful was the first true “holographic food game”?

Not only were Luo Hang and Xie Yunfan closely monitoring post-launch reception, but all industry peers were attentively watching community sentiment and revenue data.

As early as August 3 when the Shop Owner System opened, a massive number of shopkeeper players had already whaled on advanced store bundles; at that time, Food Street hadn’t officially entered open beta, operating merely as a “pre-download” phase for store owners.

Even as an “unreleased” title, it surged directly into the Top 3 of the Best-Selling Charts on August 3 alone.

From this, one could see how vast the shopkeeper player base truly was.

On August 8, the official open beta launch day, revenue undeniably claimed the #1 spot!

Industry peers had anticipated this outcome; after all, if opening just the shopkeeper system could secure a Top 3 spot when shopkeepers numbered far fewer than general diners, revenue was bound to explode once the vast wave of foodies flooded in!

This game’s active user base far surpassed Turbulent Spring and Autumn.

At its core, this was a universal game suitable for all ages and genders, attracting countess children and elderly players who logged in to experience fine dining—a level of national popularity that turn-based strategy titles couldn’t match.

According to statistics, during peak hours on launch day, Food Street surpassed 70 million concurrent online players.

Total registered users shattered the 100 million mark.

To players, Yangfan’s production combined with Qihang’s operations served as a double guarantee—the kind of project one could jump into blindly without hesitation.

Together, these two companies had never produced a bad game.

To industry competitors, however, this marked another piece of unfortunate news.

The implementation of realistic gustatory systems would render players increasingly discerning. Moving forward, any holographic game featuring “food” would need to deliver authentic taste sensations; otherwise, players would slam it as “lazy”—undeniably raising aesthetic standards across the entire industry.